11 U.S.C. § 109 : US Code - Section 109: Who may be a debtor

Search 11 U.S.C. § 109 : US Code - Section 109: Who may be a debtor

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, only a
person that resides or has a domicile, a place of business, or
property in the United States, or a municipality, may be a debtor
under this title.
(b) A person may be a debtor under chapter 7 of this title only
if such person is not -
(1) a railroad;
(2) a domestic insurance company, bank, savings bank,
cooperative bank, savings and loan association, building and loan
association, homestead association, a New Markets Venture Capital
company as defined in section 351 of the Small Business
Investment Act of 1958, a small business investment company
licensed by the Small Business Administration under section 301
of the Small Business Investment Act of 1958, credit union, or
industrial bank or similar institution which is an insured bank
as defined in section 3(h) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act,
except that an uninsured State member bank, or a corporation
organized under section 25A of the Federal Reserve Act, which
operates, or operates as, a multilateral clearing organization
pursuant to section 409 of the Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation Improvement Act of 1991 may be a debtor if a petition
is filed at the direction of the Board of Governors of the
Federal Reserve System; or
(3)(A) a foreign insurance company, engaged in such business in
the United States; or
(B) a foreign bank, savings bank, cooperative bank, savings and
loan association, building and loan association, or credit union,
that has a branch or agency (as defined in section 1(b) of the
International Banking Act of 1978 (!1) in the United States.
(c) An entity may be a debtor under chapter 9 of this title if
and only if such entity -
(1) is a municipality;
(2) is specifically authorized, in its capacity as a
municipality or by name, to be a debtor under such chapter by
State law, or by a governmental officer or organization empowered
by State law to authorize such entity to be a debtor under such
chapter;
(3) is insolvent;
(4) desires to effect a plan to adjust such debts; and
(5)(A) has obtained the agreement of creditors holding at least
a majority in amount of the claims of each class that such entity
intends to impair under a plan in a case under such chapter;
(B) has negotiated in good faith with creditors and has failed
to obtain the agreement of creditors holding at least a majority
in amount of the claims of each class that such entity intends to
impair under a plan in a case under such chapter;
(C) is unable to negotiate with creditors because such
negotiation is impracticable; or
(D) reasonably believes that a creditor may attempt to obtain a
transfer that is avoidable under section 547 of this title.
(d) Only a railroad, a person that may be a debtor under chapter
7 of this title (except a stockbroker or a commodity broker), and
an uninsured State member bank, or a corporation organized under
section 25A of the Federal Reserve Act, which operates, or operates
as, a multilateral clearing organization pursuant to section 409 of
the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Improvement Act of 1991
may be a debtor under chapter 11 of this title.
(e) Only an individual with regular income that owes, on the date
of the filing of the petition, noncontingent, liquidated, unsecured
debts of less than $250,000 and noncontingent, liquidated, secured
debts of less than $750,000, or an individual with regular income
and such individual's spouse, except a stockbroker or a commodity
broker, that owe, on the date of the filing of the petition,
noncontingent, liquidated, unsecured debts that aggregate less than
$250,000 and noncontingent, liquidated, secured debts of less than
$750,000 may be a debtor under chapter 13 of this title.
(f) Only a family farmer or family fisherman with regular annual
income may be a debtor under chapter 12 of this title.
(g) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, no
individual or family farmer may be a debtor under this title who
has been a debtor in a case pending under this title at any time in
the preceding 180 days if -
(1) the case was dismissed by the court for willful failure of
the debtor to abide by orders of the court, or to appear before
the court in proper prosecution of the case; or
(2) the debtor requested and obtained the voluntary dismissal
of the case following the filing of a request for relief from the
automatic stay provided by section 362 of this title.
(h)(1) Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), and notwithstanding any
other provision of this section, an individual may not be a debtor
under this title unless such individual has, during the 180-day
period preceding the date of filing of the petition by such
individual, received from an approved nonprofit budget and credit
counseling agency described in section 111(a) an individual or
group briefing (including a briefing conducted by telephone or on
the Internet) that outlined the opportunities for available credit
counseling and assisted such individual in performing a related
budget analysis.
(2)(A) Paragraph (1) shall not apply with respect to a debtor who
resides in a district for which the United States trustee (or the
bankruptcy administrator, if any) determines that the approved
nonprofit budget and credit counseling agencies for such district
are not reasonably able to provide adequate services to the
additional individuals who would otherwise seek credit counseling
from such agencies by reason of the requirements of paragraph (1).
(B) The United States trustee (or the bankruptcy administrator,
if any) who makes a determination described in subparagraph (A)
shall review such determination not later than 1 year after the
date of such determination, and not less frequently than annually
thereafter. Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, a nonprofit
budget and credit counseling agency may be disapproved by the
United States trustee (or the bankruptcy administrator, if any) at
any time.
(3)(A) Subject to subparagraph (B), the requirements of paragraph
(1) shall not apply with respect to a debtor who submits to the
court a certification that -
(i) describes exigent circumstances that merit a waiver of the
requirements of paragraph (1);
(ii) states that the debtor requested credit counseling
services from an approved nonprofit budget and credit counseling
agency, but was unable to obtain the services referred to in
paragraph (1) during the 5-day period beginning on the date on
which the debtor made that request; and
(iii) is satisfactory to the court.
(B) With respect to a debtor, an exemption under subparagraph (A)
shall cease to apply to that debtor on the date on which the debtor
meets the requirements of paragraph (1), but in no case may the
exemption apply to that debtor after the date that is 30 days after
the debtor files a petition, except that the court, for cause, may
order an additional 15 days.
(4) The requirements of paragraph (1) shall not apply with
respect to a debtor whom the court determines, after notice and
hearing, is unable to complete those requirements because of
incapacity, disability, or active military duty in a military
combat zone. For the purposes of this paragraph, incapacity means
that the debtor is impaired by reason of mental illness or mental
deficiency so that he is incapable of realizing and making rational
decisions with respect to his financial responsibilities; and
"disability" means that the debtor is so physically impaired as to
be unable, after reasonable effort, to participate in an in person,
telephone, or Internet briefing required under paragraph (1).